Balance-escapement.



No. 797,730. PATENTED AUG, 22, 1905.

I. GUNDORPH.

BALANCE ESGAPEMENT.

AYPLIOATION FILED APB. 9,1904.

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c /zwww/ im /w INVENTOR FERDINAND GUNDORPH, OF SAN FRANCISCO,CALIFORNIA.

BALANCE-ESCAPEMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1905.

Application filed April 9,1904. Serial No. 202,302.

To all Jr/mm [1; may concern.-

Be it known that I, FERDINAND GUNDORPH, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of San Francisco, San Francisco county,California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBalance-Escapements, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inescapements for clocks and.timepieces; and my object is to produce anescapement with the fewest number of pieces and which will run with acomparatively small power and will give a more even rate of time fromthe beginning to the end of the winding. This I accomplish by means of acresent-shaped device of preferably flat shape and by the peculiar bendof the escapewheel teeth.

\Vith the aforesaid object in view my invention consists in the peculiararrangement and combination of parts hereinafter more particularlydescribed and then definitely claimed at the end hereof.

In the accompanying drawings, which represent my invention as I nowprefer to make it, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the escapement. Fig.2 is a view of the escapement, taken at right angles to Fig. 1, but withthe balance-wheel left off. Fig. 3 is a top plan with the parts abovethe crescent-shaped disk omitted, showing only two teeth of the wheel,with the balance-staff and its parts in a position of rest. Fig. 4 is aview similar to Fig. 3, but with the balance-staff and its parts rotatedby the pressure of a tooth until one of its flanged horns passes out ofthe path of one of the teeth of the escape-wheel, so as to permit thelatter to rotate one tooths distance.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by numerals, 1 indicatesthe balancestaff, which is made of steel'and carries a flywheel orbalance 2, (see Fig. 1,) and for which a seat is provided, as seen at 3in Fig. 2. A seat 4 is also provided for the hairspring, which latter isomitted from the drawings. The balance-staff is also provided with theordinary fine pivots resting in bearings 6, which of course permit theusual free and easy rotation. Preferably about onethird from the lowerend of the staff there is formed a crescent-shaped disk 7, whose uppersurface is flat and polished, so as to reduce friction to a minimum.From this disk there project two impulse levers or horns 8, whoseworking edges are curved and also beveled, as seen best in Figs. 1 and3.

The escape-wheel 10 is represented in side elevation in Fig. l and ofcourse is fixed on the usual shaft or spindle 11, and this escapewheelis provided with teeth 12, which are formed of the peculiar shape shownin Figs. 1 and 2 and so that the teeth alternate on opposite sides ofthe vertical plane of the wheel and so that when viewed from the edge ofthe escape-wheel (see Fig. 2) the teeth slant at an angle of about fortydegrees alternately in opposite directions, with the staff 1 between thetwo rows of teeth.

As shown in Fig. 1, the'parts are at rest and no influence of power isexerted on the escapewheel 10; but it will be obvious that when power isexerted on said wheel it is caused to move in the direction of the arrowand the tooth 12 just above the beveled edge 8 of one of the impulselevers or horns will bear on said beveled and curved edge and on accountof the leverage of the tooth and the shape of the lever or horn thelatter will be shoved or displaced, and thereby caused to rotate. Thedisk and its levers or horns are rotated about twenty-four degrees whenthe parts reach the position shown in Fig. 4L; but owing to the impetusgiven to the balance it continues to rotate about sixty-six degreesmore. Of course as soon as the disk is moved by one tooth the firsttwenty-four degrees said tooth is free to slip past the impulse lever orhorn 8 and the next tooth is now caught and rests on the polished fiatsurface of the disk 7 where it rests during the remainder of themovement of the disk. Owing to the fact that there is only a point ofthe tooth contacting with this polished portion 7 and as said portion isperfectly flat, the disk can easily rotate till about ninety degrees,when the force of the impulse is spent. Then the hair-spring will ofcourse cause its return movement. During this return movement the point12 of the tooth is still in contact with the polished flat portion 7,and hence the disk can glide freely under the tooth; but just as soon asthe point 12 of the tooth reaches the end of the fiat portion 7 saidtooth is again in a similar position to that shown in Fig. 1, but on theother side of the staff, so that the power which is exerted on theescape-wheel 10 causes the inclined or angular tooth to new contact withthe curved or beveled edge on the opposite impulse lever or horn 8, andthus once more impel the disk and its balance in areverse direction, aspreviously described.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings it will beseen that l have invented a very simple escapement with practically onlytwo working pieces (the escape-wheel 10 and the disk 7 with itsimpulselevers) and that owing to the structure of these parts there is aminimum of friction, and an escapement of great delicacy is produced.

What I claim as new is 1. In an escapement, an escape-wheel having teethslanting alternately in opposite'directions, in combination with acrescentshaped disk having its working edges beveled, the saidalternating teeth hearing as levers on said working edges, substantiallyas described.

2. In an escapement, the combination of an escape-wheel having its teethslanting alternately in opposite directions; of a disk arranged to coactwith said teeth, said disk having a polished fiat portion or hearing onwhich said teeth ride, substantially as described.

3. In an escapement, an escape-wheel having its teeth slantingalternately in opposite directions, in combination with a crescentshapeddisk provided with impulse-levers having the working edges'curved, theedges of the teeth of said escape-wheel hearing at an angle on thebeveled and curved edges of said crescent-shaped levers, and said diskhaving a flat polished portion or hearing on which said teeth aresupported during a portion of each rotary movement of said disk,substantially as described.

Signed by me at San Francisco, California, this 18th day of March, 190

FERDINAND GUNDORPH.

Witnesses:

E. E. KIRK, GEORGE PA'r'rIsoN.

